As the man once said: "You can live in many places, but you can only be from one place." And that's certainly true of Navan, the town I’ll always call home.” So says journalist and radio producer Louise Walsh when we reminisce about our hometown of Navan - County Meath’s principal commercial area, famed for mines, manufacturing and the confluence of two rivers, not to mention the advertising catchphrase, "only an hour from Dublin".
It’s also one of the world's few towns that enjoys a palindromic status - a word that reads the same backward as forwards - a silly boast that gives us locals much pride! With an urban population swelling close to 40,000 - making it one of the largest towns in Ireland - Navan is where I spent the first 17 years of my life, and as Louise joked, no matter where I’ve lived in the 20-odd years since, it will always be my home. And I continually strive to showcase its spirit whenever possible - especially in my three novels, including my most recent release, Crazy For You. Amusingly, every time I introduce myself as being from Navan, the first response from Irish people is invariably, “You don’t sound like you’re from Navan !” - a reference to the lighthearted infamy the accent enjoys throughout the Emerald Isle: elongated vowels; nasal sounds; sing-song inflections.
This article was originally published in Ireland of the Welcomes magazine. Subscribe now! Accents aside, I ask Louise what makes this bustling Norman town so unique for he.
